https://missourivalleytech.github.io/MISSOURI VALLEY TECH2018-02-13T22:35:58+00:00Missouri Valley Tech is the inane ramblings and various projects of a gadget geek, Apple lover, and keyboard wonk.MorganspeckJekyllhttps://missourivalleytech.github.io/keyboards/2018-02-13-Kinesis-Reloaded-Day-2Kinesis Reloaded: Day 22018-02-13T00:00:00+00:00Morganblog@missourivalley.tech/MorganAfter a year of making small plans and acquiring parts (namely a Stapelberg controller), I was ready to start modifications to the Kinesis. Last Sunday was Day 1 of a multi-part project. These modifications will completely rebuild the Kinesis from the ground up. When I'm done, the only thing that will remain from the original board is the case.<p>Previously: <a href="/keyboards/2018-01-30-Kinesis-Reloaded-Day-1">Kinesis Reloaded: Day 1</a></p>
<p>Welcome back, loyal readers. In the previous part of this adventure in Kinesis modifications, I had completed all the preliminary prep work on the Kinesis’ left and right keywells, and thumb clusters. The keywells and thumb clusters had new Otemu Ice switches soldered in, and I had verified (using the stock control electronics) that the PCBs and thumb clusters were working as expected.</p>
<p>This past Sunday I spent my day working on the Stapelberg Controller, validating that I could upload a firmware to the controller, sorting out the pin configuration for the thumb clusters, and adding RGB lighting to the board.</p>
<p>As stated in previous posts, this project is a total overhaul of my Kinesis Contoured Model 110. From it, the case will be the only original part left.</p>
<h5 id="project-goals">Project Goals</h5>
<ul>
<li>Replace factory Cherry MX Brown switches with tactile Otemu Ice switches. - <strong>DONE</strong></li>
<li>Replace period keywell and thumb cluster PCBs with modern (Stapelberg compatible) PCBs. <strong>DONE</strong></li>
<li>Replace factory control electronics with Stapelberg controller. <strong>DONE</strong></li>
<li>Add RGB underglow. <strong>DONE</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>There is also a <em>new</em> project goal that I will explain in more depth later in this post.</p>
<ul>
<li>Get Fkey row of non-mechanical switches working with the Stapelberg controller.</li>
</ul>
<h4 id="day-2">Day 2</h4>
<p>Day 2 was largely test and validation day. With all the hard work on the keywells and thumb clusters complete, I knew that the majority of the work remaining would be testing and troubleshooting issues with the build.</p>
<h5 id="stapelberg">Stapelberg</h5>
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<p>The first order of business was to prep the Stapelberg Controller itself. For this, headers must be soldered to the circuit board, followed by the Teensy controller. The standard build instructions for this are to use white vertical-insertion headers for the keywells and Fkey rows, and to solder thumb cluster wires direct to the controller. I opted for a couple changes to fit this board.</p>
<p>1 - Instead of wiring the thumb clusters direct to the controller, I instead opted to wire sockets to the controller, and headers to the thumb clusters. This allows me to then use jumper wires to connect the two. In hindsight this wasn’t really needed, since the thumb cluster wire arrangement is pretty straightforward, but I made the choice so that if I had to do some tweaking all I would need to do is move jumper wires - rather than resolder.</p>
<p>2 - Instead of using the white vertical-insertion ribbon headers for the Fkey row, I again opted for sockets. I chose this because I wanted to use the original Kinesis Contoured’s white Fkeys and circuit board. This older Contoured Fkey circuit board uses header pins instead of a ribbon. By using sockets on the Fkeys pins on the Stapelberg controller, I’d give myself room to play with the wire arrangement. I figured that it was likely the wiring was different between the Contoured Fkeys and the Advantage Fkeys that the Stapelberg controller was designed for.</p>
<p>With all the headers and sockets on the controller, next I added the Teensy. Unlike most keyboards that use a Teensy - this one has the teensy face-down. With this arrangement, it’s not possible to access the Teensy’s hardware reset button - something to be mindful of if you undertake a mod like this. Given that I wouldn’t have access to the reset button, I opted to add some headers to the GND and RST pins on the teensy - that way I could jump those two pins to reset it when need be.</p>
<p>I also added headers to the A port pins on the teensy, so that I could use one of them for data to my RGB strip. And also to the 5V pin, for power to the RGB strip.</p>
<h5 id="flashing--testing">Flashing &amp; Testing</h5>
<p>With all the prep work done on the Stapelberg controller, it was time to flash a firmware and get to testing things.</p>
<p>Oh boy, this part took me forever. It was a big change for me to adjust to when the <code class="highlighter-rouge">make</code> commands got changed in QMK back in October. With those changes, I always feel a lack of confidence anytime I try to flash a new QMK board. I won’t lie, I spent a good hour or two fighting with QMK trying to get a firmware flashed.</p>
<p>With this particular keyboard in QMK, there are two projects under the /Kinesis directory: /avicstep, and /stapelberg. Anytime I tried to even <em>compile</em> the Stapelberg firmware I got a rules error. As it turns out, I’m a moron that was typing stap<strong>le</strong>berg, rather than the correct stap<strong>el</strong>berg.</p>
<p>Once the controller was flashed, I was able to test and verify that the keywells and thumb clusters were working with the new controller.</p>
<h5 id="rgb">RGB</h5>
<p>Next up was RGB. In the past RGB was always something I found too intimidating to add to a board of my own. Anytime I used RGB it was limited to boards where someone else had already added the RGB functionality to the firmware (like DZ60 or Iris). In the past couple years though QMK has made the process for adding RGB much <strong>much</strong> easier.</p>
<p>First I took care of the hardware side - I soldered three jumper wires (for 5V, ground, and data) to an RGB strip. Then I connected jumper wires to 5V, GND, and A3 pins on the teensy. The A3 pin serves to transmit data to the RGB strip.</p>
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<p>Adding RGB functionality to the firmware was a BREEZE. Far easier than I thought it would be. As it turns out, all the RGB functionality is now in QMK by default, and for the firmware it’s just a matter of adding the right lines to the keyboard’s project files.</p>
<p>Inside the <em>config.h</em> file at ~/Kinesis/Stapelberg/config.h I added these lines:</p>
<div class="highlighter-rouge"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight"><code>/* ws2812 RGB LED */
#define RGB_DI_PIN A3
#define RGBLED_NUM 40
#define RGBLIGHT_ANIMATIONS
</code></pre></div></div>
<p>In my keymap’s <em>rules.mk</em> file at ~/Kinesis/keymaps/default/rules.mk I added:</p>
<div class="highlighter-rouge"><div class="highlight"><pre class="highlight"><code>RGBLIGHT_ENABLE = yes
</code></pre></div></div>
<p>With that, RGB was enabled and functioning in my firmware. The last step was to add actual keycodes to my keymap to control the RGB. In my keymap I have a keycode for <code class="highlighter-rouge">RGB_TOG</code>to allow the strip to be turned on and off.</p>
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<p>I then flashed the Stapelberg controller and validated RGB was working. Awesome!</p>
<h5 id="fkeys">Fkeys</h5>
<p>As stated above, one of the last goals before I got to final assembly of the Kinesis was getting the non-mechanical Fkey row working with the Stapelberg. When I was prepping the Stapelberg I added sockets so that I could use jumpers from my original Kinesis Contoured Fkeys to the controller. As it turns out, this was a mistake.</p>
<p>I had anticipated that the Contoured Fkey circuit boards would have a different layout than the Advantage Fkeys, but I had no idea how different it would be. In short, the Controured’s Fkeys use a wiring matrix like I’ve never seen in a keyboard before.</p>
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<p>Before I started trying to make the Fkeys work, I had assumed (incorrectly) that it would be a 1:1 pin mapping. 9 keys, 10 pins - I figured one pin for each button and another to complete the circuit. Boy howdy was I wrong. Though the Fkeys are just one row, the wiring goes all over the place. Esc is wired to F1 and F2, F2 is also wired to F5 and F6, F6 is also wired to F3 and F4, it’s just a mess.</p>
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<p>I tried and tried for a couple hours to find the right combination and arrangement of pins from the Fkeys to the Stapelberg, but I never could sort it out.</p>
<p>After a wasted couple hours trying to make them work, I feel back on my parts board and harvested the Fkey ribbon cables from my Advantage donor board, installed the correct ribbon headers in the Stapelberg. It took a bit of finessing to get the ribbon cables situtated in the case, behind the rubber buttons, but eventually I got it all installed.</p>
<p>While I did fail at getting the original Controured Fkey PCBs to work, I did at least reuse the original rubber buttons themselves, so the Fkey row appears to be factory an unmodified from the outside.</p>
<h4 id="ready-to-assemble">Ready To Assemble</h4>
<p>With the Fkey rows sorted out, all parts of the build were validated and I knew they were working properly. Most of the testing thus far had actually taken place with raw components outside of the case - I had wiring everywhere and the case was a mess. The day was getting late, but I knew it was ready for the last part - assembly, which I’ll save for the last part of this series.</p>
<p>Stay tuned!</p>
<hr />
<p align="right">Typed on Blue Alps64</p>
2018-02-13T00:00:00+00:00https://missourivalleytech.github.io/apple/2018-02-06-Gruber-On-HomePodGruber on HomePod2018-02-06T00:00:00+00:00Morganblog@missourivalley.tech/MorganJohn Gruber reviews HomePod in fewer than 140 characters.<p><a href="https://daringfireball.net/2018/02/homepod">John Gruber on HomePod</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’ve been testing Apple’s new HomePod for the last week or so, and this is the first product review I’ve written that could be accurately summarized in the length of a tweet, and an old-school 140-character tweet at that: HomePod does exactly what Apple says it does, doesn’t do anything more than what Apple says it does, and costs $349. There.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Click through to read the full review.</p>
<p>Gruber’s impressions line up with most of the other reviews. For primary objectives Apple appears to have nailed it.</p>
<ul>
<li>An amazing small speaker - <strong>Done</strong></li>
<li>Siri as primary interaction model for HomePod - <strong>Done</strong></li>
<li>Amazing wireless interface for said speaker - <em>mostly done</em></li>
</ul>
<p>Some notes: for now HomePod only supports AirPlay 1. It’s successor, AirPlay 2 is coming in a software update. This will enable multi-room audio and less latency.</p>
<p>Siri’s functionality is limited for now, but HomePod is billed primarily as a speaker, not an assistant. I would expect more Siri functions with future software updates.</p>
<hr />
<p align="right">Typed on Git2Go</p>
2018-02-06T00:00:00+00:00https://missourivalleytech.github.io/keyboards/2018-01-30-Kinesis-Reloaded-Day-1Kinesis Reloaded: Day 12018-01-30T00:00:00+00:00Morganblog@missourivalley.tech/MorganAfter a year of making small plans and acquiring parts (namely a Stapleberg controller), I was ready to start modifications to the Kinesis. Last Sunday was Day 1 of a multi-part project. These modifications will completely rebuild the Kinesis from the ground up. When I'm done, the only thing that will remain from the original board is the case.<p>Previously: <a href="/keyboards/2018-01-05-The-Stapleberg-Controller">The Stapleberg Controller</a></p>
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<p>It was roughly a year ago that I acquired a ~1995 <a href="/keyboards/2017-02-09-Kinesis-Countoured-Model-110">Kinesis Contoured Model 110 keyboard</a>. Like many people, my first time seeing a Kinesis was in <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/27vkcg/keyboard_spotting_i_was_just_watching_men_in/">Men and Black</a>. With its crazy design and sculpted keywells, I was really interested in this keyboard even then, long before I turned into a keyboard wonk. When I got this white Kinesis Contoured a year ago it wasn’t fully functional, but I was happy just to have it. Even if I never did anything with it, the Kinesis is a fun board to put on the wall.</p>
<p>After a year of making small plans and acquiring parts (namely a <a href="/keyboards/2018-01-05-The-Stapleberg-Controller">Stapleberg controller</a>), I was ready to start modifications to the Kinesis. Last Sunday was Day 1 of a multi-part project. These modifications will completely rebuild the Kinesis from the ground up. When I’m done, the only thing that will remain from the original board is the case.</p>
<h5 id="project-goals">Project Goals</h5>
<ul>
<li>Replace factory Cherry MX Brown switches with tactile Otemu Ice switches.</li>
<li>Replace period keywell and thumb cluster PCBs with modern (Stapleberg compatible) PCBs.</li>
<li>Replace factory control electronics with Stapleberg controller.</li>
<li>Add RGB underglow.</li>
</ul>
<h4 id="day-1">Day 1</h4>
<p>On Sunday I was at my workbench for nearly 8 hours - I only completed my two goals. Of course, desoldering two complete boards, then soldering in ~80 some switches does take quite a bit of time. Now that I’m halfway done, I’m hoping the remaining half can <em>also</em> be done in a day.</p>
<p>The first order of business on Sunday was extracting the modern PCBs from a Kinesis Advantage. My white Kinesis Contoured is old enough that its internal design and circuitry is entirely different from the modern-day Advantage boards. As a result of these differences, the programmable Stapleberg controller is not compatible with the Contoured’s circuitry. I could’ve alleviated myself all the headache of desoldering by just buying raw PCBs directly from Kinesis, but in the end the cost difference between raw parts and a used Kinesis Advantage was negligible. The route I chose was a lot more work, but I have the benefit of an entire spare Kinesis case for future projects.</p>
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<p>To extract the PCBs, I first disassembled the Kinesis, whipped out my trusty <a href="http://amzn.to/2BEEmbC">desoldering iron</a>, then got to the business of desoldering the switches. I’ve desoldered quite a few keyboards in my time, but this was definitely the most difficult yet. For one, the Kinesis’ matrix diodes are <em>inside</em> the switches - so there’s double the desoldering work to do just to remove a switch; secondly, the curved keywells make it very difficult to actually desolder the pins without damaging anything. It took me quite a long time just to get the solder out, then the same amount of time to actually get the keywell PCBs off without totally wrecking them. Despite all my caution, I did still damage the PCBs in several places, so patch wires were needed when I got to reassembly. I can’t say that I’m too desperately surprised that the PCBs took some damage - unlike any other keyboard PCBs, these are flexible, so quite a bit thinner than anything else out there.</p>
<p>After removing the switches from the Advantage’s keywells, I repeated the same process on the white Contoured’s keywells. With the contoured I threw caution to the wind, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to reuse the PCBs. Without care about the PCBs (since they’d be trashed anyway) the desoldering was much faster and smoother.</p>
<p>With the white Contoured’s keywell bare, I installed the 75g Otemu Ice switches that I’ll be using in this build. Otemu has come a long way in the past few years. Just 3 years ago every Otemu switch I tried was absolutely terrible; these new Ice switches are very nice, and make a great budget alternative to Zealios. The Ice switches are pretty smooth, and very tactile. Not as good as Zealios, but still pretty good (considering they’re half the price).</p>
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<p>Next, were diodes. I’ve got a lot of experience working with diodes, many previous builds (Alps64, ErgoDox, Iris) have used them. Typically with diodes there is a dedicated through-hole space for them <em>next to</em> the switch, with the Kinesis PCBs, the diode holes are <em>right under</em> the switch. I decided that unlike Kinesis, I wouldn’t put diodes inside my switches; if I ever wanted to change the switch type the desoldering work would be hell. I opted instead to put the diodes on the opposite side of the PCB and have them poke through. It took a bit to verify that my diode orientation was correct, but soldering them in was mostly painless. I did need to cut the soldered legs on the switch side of the PCB down totally flush, so the switches wouldn’t be interfered with by the diode legs poking out from the PCB.</p>
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<p>With diodes soldered and the PCBs prepped, I started the task of soldering the PCB on to the switches. Funny…typically I think of soldering switches to the PCB, but for this build it’s quite the opposite. The switches are first installed in the keywell plate, then the PCB is bent over the switches and soldered into place. This soldering work is complicated and time consuming, but after some creative work (holding the flexible PCB down as I soldered) I was able to get it done.</p>
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<p>As stated above, I did a decent amount of damage to the donor PCBs when I removed them from the Advantage. I needed a total of <strong>9</strong> patch wires to get the PCBs functional again. It’s been ages since I’ve needed to patch a circuit board - I think the last time was my very first keyboard, an Alps64. This patch work proved to be quite challenging. The matrix on the Kinesis aren’t laid out like any other keyboard I’ve worked with, and with no reference material or spare PCBs to inspect, it took a lot of trial and error to get the first keywell functional. The second keywell was a lot easier as I took photos of both sides of the PCB <em>before</em> I soldered it into place. The lesson learned is that I shouldn’t try to wing repairs when I know they’ll be necessary. Any future projects that I go into know I’ll need to perform repairs - I’ll document prior to soldering anything in place.</p>
<p>The last step in this process was to solder in new switches on the thumb clusters. These little PCBs are just like standard PCBs, so the process was quick and painless.</p>
<p>Going into the work on Sunday, I’d really hoped to get the project <em>complete</em>, alas - complex tasks always take longer than you think. I won’t have time for another marathon 8 hour soldering session this week, so I imagine completion will need to wait until next weekend. In the interim I’ll be working on getting RGB LED functionality up and running in the Stapleberg’s QMK firmware.</p>
<p>Once the project is complete, I’ll have a video up on my YouTube channel as well. Stay tuned for more on this!</p>
<hr />
<p align="right">Typed on Blue Alps64</p>
2018-01-30T00:00:00+00:00https://missourivalleytech.github.io/apple/2018-01-30-HomePod-Audiophile-ImpressionsHomePod, From an Audiophile's Perspective2018-01-30T00:00:00+00:00Morganblog@missourivalley.tech/MorganA Reddit member's take on HomePod in an early preview.<p><a href="https://www.apple.com/homepod/">HomePod</a>, Apple’s answer to Sonos, Echo, and Google Home is coming out next month. Apple has largely been positioning HomePod as a high-end speaker + assistant, as opposed to an always-on assistant + speaker(Echo and the like). HomePod is designed first and foremost to be a really great speaker, which is something different from other smart-speaker offerings.</p>
<p>Here’s a take on <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/audiophile/comments/7t51a2/nda_is_up_what_can_i_tell_you_guys_about_the/">Reddit</a> from one <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/audiophile/">r/Audiophile</a> member who had an early listening:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Having heard it side by side with The Sonos Play One and Google Home Max, A single HomePod is already much better than both in terms of sound quality. I would say the Sonos Play One was 80% of the way there, but it just lacked the clarity of bass and wide soundstage.
<br />…<br />
I started out with “Hotel California” by The Eagles. The first impression was the neutrality of the speaker. The HomePods are tuned for an as-true-to-recording sound. When the song calls for it, there is bass. When the song turns to crystal clear highs, they are reproduced faithfully. What really was interesting is the instrument separation in the room. At about 45% volume, the HomePod FILLED the room I was in with some great sound. When you walked away from it, the sound gets quieter, but not as quickly as you’d expect. All the details were still there, just softer. there was no feeling of walking out of the sweet spot that you get with a normal speaker. And that’s when it hit me… Apple really has done it.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>On value:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I had a hunch that HomePods in Stereo would give my KEF X300A’s a run for their money… now it’s confirmed. Apple briefly demoed stereo for me, and I was quite floored. When Stereo is enabled via software update, a pair of HomePods may be the best bookshelf (2.0) setup under $1000 that you can get.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Ahead of HomePod’s release, I really haven’t had much interest in it - I’m more interested in the smart assistant functionality than audio quality, but this review has piqued my interest. While I typically wouldn’t gravitate towards high-end audio, it sounds like what Apple has done by processing the audio before it’s played has really made HomePod magical.</p>
<p>I haven’t ordered one, but I’m keen to try it out at an Apple Store following release.</p>
<hr />
<p align="right">Typed on Blue Alps64</p>
2018-01-30T00:00:00+00:00https://missourivalleytech.github.io/keyboards/2018-01-29-MT3-Profile-Keycaps-First-LookFirst Look: MT3 Profile Keycap Set2018-01-29T00:00:00+00:00Morganblog@missourivalley.tech/MorganThis is a first look at the new /dev/tty keycaps from Massdrop. Inspired by vintage terminal keyboards MT3 profile is high profile, sculpted, and designed from scratch using modern day tools.<p>This is a first look at <a href="https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x-matt3o-devtty-custom-keycap-set?mode=guest_open">/dev/tty</a> keycaps in <a href="https://matt3o.com/about-mt3-profile-and-devtty-set/">MT3</a> profile. MT3 was developed from scratch by <a href="https://matt3o.com/">Matt3o</a>, using new CAD designs and production molds; it was produced and sold by <a href="https://www.massdrop.com/">Massdrop</a>. Inspired by vintage terminal keyboards from the 70s and 80s, /dev/tty is the first set available in this new profile, and is surely the first of many to come.</p>
<p>MT3 is a NEW keycap profile that tall and sculpted. These keycaps use matte <a href="https://deskthority.net/wiki/Keycap_material#PBT">PBT plastic</a> with crisp <a href="https://deskthority.net/wiki/Keycap_printing#Dye_sublimation">dye sublimated legends</a>. MT3 is not a <a href="https://pimpmykeyboard.com/key-cap-family-specs/">SA profile</a> clone, it is entirely new - while high profile and visually similar to SA, MT3 feels entirely different and has a more aggressive sculpt, especially on row 4. The spherical tops of the keycaps are also significantly different from SA - the tops are smaller and cup one’s fingertips far more than SA does, it’s a really great feeling.</p>
<p>In terms of feel, each MT3 top feels like a deep dish top, because of this aggressive sphere, there’s a lot more tactile feedback than SA sets, it’s easier to orient one’s self by feel alone than any set I’ve used before. The unique sculpt really adds a lot to the feel - of course Row 1 sculpts upwards, but Row 4 also sculpts upwards in the opposite direction. The row 4 sculpt is similar to the row 4 on <a href="https://pimpmykeyboard.com/key-cap-family-specs/">DCS profile</a> keycaps, but because MT3 is spherical, it is far more comfortable.</p>
<p>Massdrop encountered many production difficulties while readying this set (which is to be expected with any entirely new product), but I’m happy to report that the delays were worthwhile. The texture and printing on these keycaps is fantastic. Unlike SA, these are entirely matte (SA is semigloss), with a light but smooth texture on the keycap tops - far smoother than DSA keycaps. The dye sublimated printing is vibrant and crisp. With the Cyrillic set I have, the red legends really pop and look fantastic.</p>
<p>I’ve been a big advocate for SA profile keycaps for a long time, but there’s a very good chance that MT3 will be my new go-to keycap profile.</p>
<hr />
<p align="right">RedScarf II Ver.D</p>
2018-01-29T00:00:00+00:00https://missourivalleytech.github.io/videos/2018-01-21-Stickerbomb-DZ60-Typing-TestStickerbomb DZ60 Typing2018-01-21T00:00:00+00:00Morganblog@missourivalley.tech/MorganTyping video of my Stickerbomb DZ60 keyboard. This board has a mostly muted sound, with a distinct clack.<p>I really like the sound and feel of this board. The 78g Zealio switches in this board are quite tactile, and in conjunction with the Maxkey SA keycaps they feel great. The sound of this board is mostly muted, with distinct clack; it’s likely one my quietest keyboards.</p>
<hr />
<p align="right">Typed on Git2Go</p>
2018-01-21T00:00:00+00:00https://missourivalleytech.github.io/keyboards/2018-01-15-2-Stickerbomb-DZ60-Build-LogStickerbomb DZ60 HHKB Build Log2018-01-15T00:00:00+00:00Morganblog@missourivalley.tech/MorganI loved the look of the stickerbombed case, but not the layout. I'm firmly a 60% guy, I simply didn't have interest in a TKL layout board. I knew that to make one for myself, and to have the HHKB layout I love, I'd have to endeavor to build my first truly custom keyboard case.<p>About a year ago, I noticed a product on <a href="https://1upkeyboards.com/diy-tkl-2-plate-ss-sticker-kit.html">1UpKeyboards</a> for a stickerbomb TKL layout keyboard. The kit on the site offered two metal plates and a pack of stickers. Prior to the stickerbomb TKL launch, I’d seen plenty of stickerbombed keyboards, usually folks slapping stickers on existing cases. I really fell in love with the TKL on 1UpKeyboards because it used a skeleton/sandwich design, a case made of just two plates. I loved the raw look of it, the pictures on the site looked more three dimensional that other stickerbomb boards I’d seen. It looked more <em>interesting</em>, it had depth, because you could see stickers on both plates, as opposed to just stickers slapped on a standard plastic case.</p>
<p>I loved the <em>look</em> of the case, but not the layout. When it comes to standard staggered keyboards, I’m firmly a 60% guy. I simply have no interest in a TKL layout keyboard. Sadly, 1Up did not (and to date has not) offered a similar product in a 60% layout. I knew that to make one for myself, I’d have to endeavor to do my first <strong>truly</strong> custom keyboard case. I started doing research on how to have a custom plate made, and how to design one.</p>
<h3 id="the-case">The Case</h3>
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<p>Getting ready to design the plates, I settled on what I wanted out of the case. My big priorities were for a <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Hacking_Keyboard">HHKB</a> layout, with wide bezels, and support for split-spacebars. I knew going into the design that I would be putting stickers all over the plates, so I wanted as much space as possible to highlight the stickers. The wide bezel all the way around allows more stickers to be seen, and the blocked off keys on the bottom row would give me even more room to feature stickers. I also chose the HHKB layout because it’s simply my favorite arrangement for 60% keyboards. I’ve already got a board with this layout, and love using it.</p>
<p>To design the board, I first mocked up a design on <a href="http://www.keyboard-layout-editor.com/">Keyboard Layout Editor</a>, then copied the raw data from KLE into <a href="http://builder.swillkb.com/">Swill’s Plate Builder</a> tool. If you haven’t used Swill’s tool before, it’s amazing. Without this tool I likely would never have had the ambition to do this build. Swill’s tool imports the raw layout data from KLE, and provides a SVG or DWF output with a plate design. There are tons of levers and switches on the site - you’re able to adjust the plate design for use in standard 60% cases or sandwich &amp; skeleton style cases (like this build), adjust the screw hole size, bezel, corner radius, and more!</p>
<p><img src="https://imgur.com/iQGXhSJ.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>The output from Swill’s tool gave me a good basis for the plate design. From there I made further adjustments to the design using <a href="https://qcad.org/en/">QCad</a>. Specifically I made adjustments to the stabilizer openings, and switch openings for the split spacebar. Designs for the case are available here.</p>
<p>For manufacture, I opted to use <a href="https://www.ponoko.com/">Ponoko</a>. There are also a bunch of other companies that can do custom-cut plates. For acrylics, <a href="https://www.sculpteo.com/en/">Sculpteo</a>, for metals, <a href="http://www.bigbluesaw.com/">BigBlueSaw</a>. The plates I ordered from Ponoko were 1.5mm clear acrylic. In hindsight, I likely should have ordered thicker plates. By themselves the 1.5mm plates were quite flimsy - this had been a hand wired build they would’ve been completely unsuitable. Fortunately, once fully assembled the board was quite sturdy, but if I could do it over again, I likely would’ve ordered 3mm acrylic, or opted for steel plates.</p>
<h3 id="pcb">PCB</h3>
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<p>Aside from the case, all other parts for this build use off-the shelf parts. While this is not my first 60% layout board, this was my first time using the <a href="https://kbdfans.myshopify.com/products/dz60-60-pcb">DZ60 PCB </a> from KBDFans. I’ve been really impressed with this circuit board. It’s available at a <strong>very</strong> competitive price, just $40. It has integrated RGB underglow, runs on <a href="http://qmk.fm/">QMK</a>, supports LED backlighting, works with all standard <a href="https://deskthority.net/wiki/Vortex_Pok3r">POKER</a> style 60% keyboard cases, and is compatible with more layouts than any other circuit board I’m aware of. The killer for this PCB is its bottom row - with support for 6u, 6.25u, 7u, and split spacebars. I plan on using the DZ60 for the next few 60% builds I have planned.</p>
<h3 id="stickers">Stickers</h3>
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<p>As I refined more ideas about how to execute this build, I decided that I wanted a ‘theme’ for the stickers. I already had a couple sticker packs, and was gifted a <a href="http://amzn.to/2r0wjpg">Rick and Morty stickerpack</a> by my girlfriend. As a big fan of the show, I opted to use a Rick and Morty theme for this build. The majority of the visible stickers are from the Rick and Morty pack, and I set the RGB underglow on the PCB to green - a la the green of Rick’s portal gun.</p>
<h1 id="the-build">The Build</h1>
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<p>All parts for this build:</p>
<ul>
<li>Custom plates</li>
<li>DZ60 PCB</li>
<li>Zealio 78g switches</li>
<li>Gateron black switches</li>
<li>Plate mount stabilizers</li>
<li>Maxkey SA Ninja keycaps</li>
<li>Assorted stickerbomb pack</li>
<li>Rick and Morty sticker pack</li>
<li>Knurled M3 spacers and hex M3 screws</li>
</ul>
<p>This build was one of my longer ones. A lot of keyboards I can build in just a couple hours; assembly for this build took over 6. I started by prepping the plates. First, the protective cover over the acrylic was removed. Then I started applying stickers over both plate until they were fully covered. Then came the process of cutting out switch holes in the top plate. This initial prep took well over two and a half hours.</p>
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<p>After I was satisfied with stickers on the plate, I applied a Rustoleom clear enamel on both top and bottom plates, so that the stickers would stay down on the acrylic, and be protected from bumps and scratches.</p>
<p>While the enamel dried I prepped my stabilizers. As I’ve done before, I clipped the stabilizer legs and used <a href="http://amzn.to/2D3lIvj">Finish Line Extreme Flouro</a> lube. New (to me) for this build was the band aid mod. With this mod, sections of cloth band aids are cut up and applied on the PCB, below the stabilizers. This mod reduces stabilizer rattle significantly, and provides a very slight cushion when stabilized keys are fully depressed. With all these mods and work, I can say conclusively that this board has the best feeling stabilizers I’ve ever used.</p>
<p>Once the enamel dried, it was time to install switches. Here the thin plates hurt me. With how flexible the top plate is, it took a lot of effort to get the switches fully seated in the plate and on the PCB. If I’d chosen a thicker acrylic or stronger material, this would have been a much simpler process.</p>
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<p>The primary switches for this build are 78g Zealio switches. I’ve done boards with Zealios before, but never this heavy. As I’ve gotten deeper and deeper into this hobby, I’ve gained a big appreciation for heavy switches. These Zealios feel excellent. They’re smooth, tactile, and heavy, but not too heavy. I also installed Gateron blacks for the shift keys and spacebar. I like my shift and spacebars to be lighter than my alphas, and linear. These Gateron blacks are great, a big upgrade over the Cherry blacks I’ve used previously. The Gaterons have a similar weight as the Cherrys, but are significantly smoother.</p>
<p>With switches installed, I broke out my handy circuit board holder and began soldering.</p>
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<p>Now that soldering was complete, I assembled the board, installed keycaps, and got to programming.</p>
<h3 id="spacebars">Spacebars</h3>
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<p>Friends I’ve showed this board to have asked me what split spacebars achieves. If you’re like my, you tend to hit your space bar using only one hand, and usually in the same spot every time. If you’re hitting the a very limited part of the spacebar regularly, that means a lot of space is being wasted. I learned to appreciate having multiple functions for what a thumb key could do when I built my <a href="/ErgoDox_Omnibus">ErgoDox</a>, and later <a href="/keyboards/2017-12-18-2-Brown-Alps-Iris-Build-Log">Iris</a>. I love having space for my right thumb, and backspace for my left thumb - that’s exactly how this board is laid out. From left to right the bottom row does this:</p>
<p><code class="highlighter-rouge">ALT | CMD | Backspace | Enter/FN | Space/FN | CMD | ALT</code></p>
<p>The full keymap file for this board is available <a href="/Files/Keyboards/Stickerbomb_DZ60/keymap.c">here</a>.</p>
<h1 id="final-thoughts">Final Thoughts</h1>
<center><ul class="clearing-thumbs small-block-grid-4" data-clearing="">
<li><a href="https://imgur.com/sALsXma.jpg"><img data-caption="" src="https://imgur.com/sALsXma.jpg" /></a></li>
<li><a href="https://imgur.com/BH8sDn6.jpg"><img data-caption="" src="https://imgur.com/BH8sDn6.jpg" /></a></li>
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<p>This board took a lot of time and effort to put together. I had been toying with, working on, and acquiring parts for this build for over a year. Given all the <strong>true</strong> custom work needed to build this board, I have a lot of pride in this build. There were a few missteps along the way (mostly with my plate material choice), but despite those missteps this board turned out better than I could have imagined. This stickerbombed DZ60 feels great to type on, and is visually very striking. It’s far from a ‘clean’ looking build, but it wasn’t meant to be. This board was meant to be loud, and gaudy, and over the top - and it is.</p>
<hr />
<p align="right">Typed on Stickerbomb DZ60</p>
2018-01-15T00:00:00+00:00https://missourivalleytech.github.io/videos/2018-01-15-1-DZ60-Stickerbomb-Build-VideoStickerbomb DZ60 HHKB Build Video2018-01-15T00:00:00+00:00Morganblog@missourivalley.tech/Morgan<p>About a year ago, I noticed a product on <a href="https://1upkeyboards.com/diy-tkl-2-plate-ss-sticker-kit.html">1UpKeyboards</a> for a stickerbomb TKL layout keyboard. The kit on the site offered two metal plates and a pack of stickers. Prior to the stickerbomb TKL launch, I’d seen plenty of stickerbombed keyboards, usually folks slapping stickers on existing cases. I really fell in love with the TKL on 1UpKeyboards because it used a skeleton/sandwich design, a case made of just two plates. I loved the raw look of it, the pictures on the site looked more three dimensional that other stickerbomb boards I’d seen. It looked more <em>interesting</em>, it had depth, because you could see stickers on both plates, as opposed to just stickers slapped on a standard plastic case.</p>
<p>I loved the <em>look</em> of the case, but not the layout. When it comes to standard staggered keyboards, I’m firmly a 60% guy. I simply have no interest in a TKL layout keyboard. Sadly, 1Up did not (and to date has not) offered a similar product in a 60% layout. I knew that to make one for myself, I’d have to endeavor to do my first <strong>truly</strong> custom keyboard case. I started doing research on how to have a custom plate made, and how to design one.</p>
<p>This board took a lot of time and effort to put together. I had been toying with, working on, and acquiring parts for this build for over a year. Given all the <strong>true</strong> custom work needed to build this board, I have a lot of pride in this build. This stickerbombed DZ60 feels great to type on, and is visually very striking. It’s far from a ‘clean’ looking build, but it wasn’t meant to be. This board was meant to be loud, and gaudy, and over the top - and it is.</p>
<p>A more in depth build log is <a href="/keyboards/2018-01-15-Stickerbomb-DZ60-Build-Log">here</a>.</p>
<hr />
<p align="right">Typed on Kinesis Advantage</p>
2018-01-15T00:00:00+00:00https://missourivalleytech.github.io/videos/2018-01-14-White-Iris-Typing-VideoIris Keyboard Typing2018-01-14T00:00:00+00:00Morganblog@missourivalley.tech/MorganTyping video of my Iris brown alps keyboard. This keyboard has a very 'thock' sound with light ping from some outer edge keys.<p>I’ve decided to start doing typing videos of all my new keyboard builds. Every keyboard I’ve built or used has its own unique sound. Some are very ‘pingy’, others have a low chock sound, others are more crisp. Every keyboard feels different, every keyboard sounds different. It’s worth documenting.</p>
<p>This board, my Iris with Alps SKCM brown switches produces a mostly low thock sound, with light pinging from some of the outer edge keys.</p>
<hr />
<p align="right">Typed on Brown Alps Iris</p>
2018-01-14T00:00:00+00:00https://missourivalleytech.github.io/tech/2018-01-11-Backblaze-iCloud-Cloud-StorageiCloud Drive + Backblaze2018-01-11T00:00:00+00:00Morganblog@missourivalley.tech/MorganUsing iCloud Drive with zero-knowledge client-side encryption, and Backblaze for unlimited encrypted cloud backup.<p><img src="https://imgur.com/pEDSdXL.jpg" alt="" /></p>
<p>Last year I wrote a <a href="/tech/2016-10-03-Cloud-Storage">post</a> detailing my solution for zero-knowledge unlimited cloud backup. The solution was reliant upon <a href="https://amazon.com/clouddrive">Amazon Cloud Drive</a> for storage, <a href="https://www.odrive.com/">ODrive</a> for sync, and <a href="https://www.boxcryptor.com/en/">Boxcryptor</a> for client-side encryption of content before it was uploaded to the cloud.</p>
<h4 id="the-end">The End</h4>
<p>This three-pronged backup solution was excellent for a long time. I’ve been very happy with Boxcryptor, especially as its mobile app has improved significantly since that original blog post. Like all good things, this solution had to come to an end - specifically because Amazon <a href="https://twitter.com/morganspeck/status/874716152680902656">killed</a> the ‘unlimited’ storage option for Cloud Drive at the beginning of this year. ACD moved from $60/year to $60 per <em>terabyte</em> per year. This pricing is still extremely competitive, but not budget friendly for me. I have a media server with ~8TB of content, if I’d stayed with Amazon my yearly bill would be nearly $500 a year! It was time to change providers, and I needed something for both backup, and day-to-day cloud storage.</p>
<p>Fortunately, I was able to find an alternate solution: <a href="https://secure.backblaze.com/r/01ky72">Backblaze</a> &amp; <a href="https://www.apple.com/icloud/icloud-drive/">iCloud Drive</a>. I had initially hoped to find some other vendor who could give me a single unlimited platform for storage + backup. There are options out there, but none of them were practical for what I wanted - namely ease of using while mobile. In the end it was necessary to use two different providers to achieve what I wanted.</p>
<h4 id="icloud-drive">iCloud Drive</h4>
<p>I ended up deciding to roll all my day-to-day storage needs into iCloud drive. The $2.99/month plan is very competitive, offering 200GB of storage. iCloud drive has come a long way since I tried it out as a cloud storage solution a few years ago. The sync is now fast, and reliable. Boxcryptor is also compatible with iCloud drive, so I was able to continue using that to encrypt my content before it was uploaded to the cloud.</p>
<h4 id="backblaze">Backblaze</h4>
<p>Backblaze offers several cloud-storage and backup solutions. Their <a href="https://www.backblaze.com/b2/cloud-storage.html">B2</a> service is comparable to Amazon’s <a href="https://aws.amazon.com/s3/">S3</a> offerings, and they’ve got a great consumer product that is billed as ‘unlimited backup, including external hard drives, for only $5/month’. B2 is in many ways focused on business clients - those who will be uploading and downloading a lot of content regularly. For the backup needs on my media server, I only ever plan on downloading data in the event of a total drive failure, so I opted for the $5 backup product instead.</p>
<p>Backblaze bills their backup service as unlimited, but I figured that at a cost of a mere $5/month it was too good to be true. It turns out, they mean what they say. It really is only $5/month, and it really is unlimited. I’ve been using Backblaze for several months now, and have thus far uploaded multiple terabytes. With as much content as I have, and with limited upload speed (10 megabits), I’m actually still performing the initial backup. Backblaze’s UI is pretty easy to use. Following installation there is a preference pane in System Preferences. From there you can configure which drives you want backed up (yes, they’ll also backup your external drives as long as they’re connected at least once a month), what you want excluded, and how much upload speed you want to use. The preference pane is a set-it-and-forget-it deal. Once you get the initial backup going, Backblaze’s client just does its thing, there’s no need to think about it.</p>
<p>For a security wonk like me, moving to a platform like Backblaze was a big leap. They offer very <a href="https://www.backblaze.com/backup-encryption.html">good security</a> though. By default, all content uploaded is encrypted in transit. There is also the option to set your own <a href="https://www.backblaze.com/backup-encryption.html">custom key</a> so that content is encrypted at rest, unreadable by Backblaze. Naturally, as with any encrypted platform, you have to place trust in the provider that the security claims they make are true. I’m still wary that Backblaze might have some way of seeing content at rest, but I’m mostly trusting.</p>
<p>In the event that one <em>does</em> need to recover data from a Backblaze backup, they offer several options. One can download files that need to be recovered using their web interface, or there is an option to have a drive (up to 4TB) shipped to you. With the drive option, there is a <a href="https://www.backblaze.com/restore.html">$190</a> fee, but Backblaze says they’ll refund that to you if you return the drive back to them after you’ve gotten what you need off of it. I’m not quite sure how they handle situations where you need <em>more</em> than 4TB of data recovered - I can’t imagine too many of their customers have that much data backed up. I’d assume that they just ship multiple drives. I hope I never need to find out.</p>
<p>If you want to try backblaze, they have 1 month trials available <a href="https://secure.backblaze.com/r/01ky72">here</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Full Disclosure:</strong> This is not a sponsored post. The above link is a referral link. In the event you sign up for Backblaze using this link, I will receive 1 free month of service.</p>
<hr />
<p align="right">Typed on Kinesis Advantage</p>
2018-01-11T00:00:00+00:00